Ithaca College

Dr. Elizabeth Bleicher, Dr. Andrew Utterson, and Dr. Jen Wofford presented at the 40th Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience. 

This national gathering of academic and student affairs professionals is one of the largest devoted to student success in the transition from high school to college.

Their presentation focused on the successful implementation and impact of the Ithaca Summer Seminars (ISS) in 2020. Designed by Dr. Jen Wofford and co-directed by Drs. Bleicher and Utterson, the ISS sought to engage incoming students academically and socially to help them prepare for their first semester at IC by offering up to three bespoke 1-credit courses at a significant discount. The program enrolled half the incoming class in at least one of: 24 sections of “College: Why Are We Here?;” 12 sections of “Community: A Shared Intellectual Experience;” and 26 sections of “Deep Dive” courses proposed, designed and delivered by faculty from all five schools across campus.  

Preliminary research found that ISS participants had a higher rate of fall enrollment, a small but statistically significant higher fall semester GPA, and at least one at-risk student population had a higher spring enrollment rate than non-participating first-years.  

The ISS program will be mounted for the second time in 2021.